Here's a brief preview of the Zwift Grand Prix 23/24 Round 4 Women's race, along with a recap of the exciting action from the men's race.
In the Zwift Grand Prix 23/24 Round 4, the women venture to the Makuri Islands for a 2-lap straight-up scratch race. The women’s teams will be drawing a line in the sand of Suki’s Playground, and it will host you and over 17,000 fellow racers next Tuesday in ZRL race 4.
The event format hearkens back to the Premier Division days when both elite racers and community riders took on the same course in consecutive weeks during the Zwift Racing League.
This week, it’s exclusively the Women’s competition, marking the second of three rounds (Rounds 3-5) replicating the ZRL courses and formats. It presents a fantastic chance to observe the action while familiarizing yourself with the course to pick up a few tips for strategizing your team’s path to victory.
The $100,000 Zwift Grand Prix 2023/24 series specifics are here! First, let’s recap last week’s men’s action!
Round Four Men's Race Recap and Team Results
For the first TTT of the 23/23 Zwift Grand Prix, sixteen teams of 5 riders took to the tarmac of Watopia’s Waistband. The team’s third rider to cross the line after covering the 27.8 km course in the least time would set the winning mark.
It was a tremendous display of pure power, precision, and parity, parsed by a razor-slim margin. Wahoo Le Col took the victory by 9/10ths of a second over NeXT eSports pb Enshored. Beastmode pb Rose climbed on the podium’s final step.
The Round 4 TTT brought significant changes to the Zwift Grand Prix Men’s Series Results. NeXT eSports pb Enshored moved into second place, while Wahoo Le Col jumped into third. With only 23 points between 1st and 6th with three more rounds to go, the competition remains wide open
Congratulations to the racers and men’s teams for an amazing performance in Round 4. Now to preview the Women’s Round 4 race format, course, teams, and where to watch!
Women’s Series Round 4 - Zwift Racing League - Scratch Race
The racers make the race, not the course. The format for this round of the 23/24 Zwift Grand Prix is relatively straightforward—a classic scratch race. What makes it exceptional is the racers themselves, as this elite women’s field is truly remarkable. The course is pretty okay, too.
Total Riders: 80 (16 teams of 5)
Course: Makuri’s Suki’s Playground
Laps: 2
Distance: 36.8 km (22.9 mi.)
Finish: All finishers score points
Listen to Si break down the course, bike choice, and a bit of tactics!
Course—Suki's Playground in Makuri Islands
Expect the ladies to cross the banner signaling the end of lap one and hear the bell at about twenty-three and a half minutes. Around the third mile, the long 1.5-mile drag to the Fishing Village will string things out, but not enough for the elastic to break.
Chomping at the bit, this pack of thoroughbreds will come to the line in a galloping sprint, with the best horse for the course posting up and prancing into the winner’s circle. All riders score points, so even if the victor isn’t from your stable, the squad with the most depth will take the round 4 crown.
Length: 36.8 km (22.9 mi.)
Elevation: 300m (984′)
Teams
Only the ladies are racing this week. You’ll have to wait until next week for the men’s Round 5 race.
| Men's Teams | Women's Teams |
|---|---|
| ABUS – Synergy | Aeonian |
| Beastmode p/b ROSE | ABUS – Synergy* |
| BL13 p/b Level Velo* | Beastmode p/b ROSE |
| Coalition Alpha | BL13 p/b Level Velo* |
| dPAC-ELITE* | Coalition Alpha |
| Foudre Punchers Coalition* | Hexagone* |
| Hexagone | Movistar eTeam |
| Movistar eTeam | NeXT eSports p/b Enshored* |
| NeXT eSports p/b Enshored | Primór RWB esports Femmes* |
| Primór RWB esports* | Rocacorba Collective |
| Restart p/b Alex Coh* | Saris | Nopinz |
| Saris | Nopinz* | Team Castelli p/b Elite* |
| Team Castelli p/b Elite | Team Swedish Zwifters |
| Team Swedish Zwifters | Toyota Elite ECycling |
| Toyota Elite ECycling | Wahoo Le Col |
| Wahoo Le Col | Virginia’s Blue Ridge Twenty24 |
* Teams new to the Zwift Grand Prix in 23/24
How to Watch!
Zwift Grand Prix 23/24 Round One action will be live on October 26, 2023, at 7 pm UTC on the Zwift YouTube channel. Check the times in your viewing area!
| Time Zone | Time Conversion |
|---|---|
| New York (EST) | 2 pm |
| California (PST) | 11 am |
| Britain (GMT) | 7 pm |
| Sydney (AEDT) | 6 am (next day) |
Click the image to hear a chat with WTRLs Martin Carew on balancing Cheating vs. Inclusion in the Zwift Racing League!
To subscribe to the Zommunique and receive more informative and entertaining articles like this one sent directly to your inbox, click here!
Semi-retired after more than 20 years as the owner and director of a private Orthopedic Physical Therapy practice, Chris now enjoys the freedom to dedicate himself to his passions—virtual cycling and writing.
Driven to give back to the sport that has enriched his life with countless experiences and relationships, he founded a non-profit organization, TheDIRTDadFund. In the summer of 2022, he rode 3,900 miles from San Francisco to his “Gain Cave” on Long Island, New York, raising support for his charity.
His passion for cycling shines through in his writing, which has been featured in prominent publications like Cycling Weekly, Cycling News, road.cc, Zwift Insider, Endurance.biz, and Bicycling. In 2024, he was on-site in Abu Dhabi, covering the first live, in-person UCI Cycling Esports World Championship.
His contributions to cycling esports have not gone unnoticed, with his work cited in multiple research papers exploring this evolving discipline. He sits alongside esteemed esports scientists as a member of the Virtual Sports Research Network and contributes to groundbreaking research exploring the new frontier of virtual physical sport. Chris co-hosts The Virtual Velo Podcast, too.
